This Isn't A Library: New And Notable Releases Into Comics' Direct Market

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Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.

I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.

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JUN141260 HOW THE WORLD WAS CALIFORNIA CHILDHOOD GN $19.99APR141209 HEROES O/T COMICS HC PORTRAITS PIONEERING LEGENDS $34.99
Two big candidate for book of the week. I have not always enjoyed the translated Emmanuel Guibert works I've read, but I liked this reminiscence of childhood quite a bit -- and I'm not sure why I found it affecting in a way I didn't with the World War 2-focused material from Alan Cope published as Alan's War here, I think. Something about this one just worked for me, though. The Drew Friedman I'm looking forward to seeing again; I greatly enjoy the affection that comes through those portraits, and Friedman what seems like a highly-refined sense of comics history. He knows this material.

JUN140045 USAGI YOJIMBO SENSO #1 $3.99JUN140292 TINY TITANS RETURN TO THE TREEHOUSE #3 $2.99MAY148196 WINTERWORLD #1 2ND PTG $3.99APR140572 INVINCIBLE #113 $2.99MAY140709 LAZARUS #10 (MR) $3.50JUN140485 NIGHTWORLD #1 $3.99FEB140822 KICK-ASS 3 #8 (MR) $5.99JUN140654 SHE-HULK #7 $2.99
It's an interesting week for serial comic books working squarely within various established genres. The Stan Saki book -- a flash-forward ending for his characters involving a guest appearance from a potent public domain villain. I'm on board. I'm glad to see the Tiny Titans material and so are two of three kids I know well that are under the age of nine. The Winterworld I'd check out after seeing it when Ted Adams placed it into my heads Comic-Con weekend. I like how dense the narratives have been in Invincible, although the world-ending stakes are starting to tire me. I've enjoyed the Rucka/Lark Lazarus comic book far more than I thought I would just based on the kinds of books I usually read. That strikes me as the epitome of a solid, entertaining and idiosyncratically told adventure comic. Finally, the Nightworld is that handsome looking book that people noticed during the solicitation period a couple of months ago. I'd take a chance on the final product, for sure. I'm just surprised Kick-Ass isn't over yet; I would have lost that bet, and my job is paying attention to comics. That's not a shot on anything other than staggering breadth of work that's coming out, I swear. Finally, if that She-Hulk is one of the issues with Javier Pulido art, I'd consider it. I know three people for whom this is the only Marvel comic they buy.

MAY140407 TRILLIUM TP (MR) $16.99
I lost track of this after the first issue, but this is Jeff Lemire's most recent work for Vertigo, and I try to keep an eye on everything he does.

APR140073 COMPLETE ELFQUEST TP VOL 01 ORIGINAL QUEST $24.99
I need a good copy of this. I prefer the original comics, but I'd check out this latest packaging of one of the humongous indy comics of my indy-minded youth.

JUN140506 INVINCIBLE HC VOL 09 ULTIMATE COLL $39.99
I also prefer to own these in original comic book form. It's not the first comic book I read it, but it may be the strangest accomplishment on the stands given how many titles have tried and failed to work similar territory.

MAR140756 FURY MAX HC MY WAR GONE BY $34.99
This I know very little about, other than that it's Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov, who can be superior creators of genre material, and that a lot of critics this was a go-to book in terms of big-company material. Also, since it's a Marvel book, you need to buy it first day in the shops because god only knows if it will stay in print.

JUN141446 BENNY AND PENNY IN LOST & FOUND GN $12.95
I'm a fan of this series and feel that Geoffrey Hayes is the MVP of that publisher. I think this is a reprint of an earlier book, but I would look it over on the stands just to be sure.

MAY141443 NEIL GAIMAN GRAVEYARD BOOK HC GN VOL 01 $19.99APR140076 RING OF NIBELUNG HC $29.99
I'd say "that's a lot of P. Craig Russell," because in particular the Nibelung book is huge, but that makes it sound like I'm not happy to see as much P. Craig Russell work as he'd care to make. The Graveyard work, with its team of artists, should stay on the market through the Christmas season as a brisk, stand-alone seller.

JUN140785 READING WITH PICTURES HC $19.99
I like several of the cartoonists involved, plus this is the only comic-shop offering this week likely to reference Howard Gardner.

MAY141788 SKETCHBOOK GUARNIDO (MR) $30.00MAY140446 WALTER SIMONSONS LAWNMOWER MAN ARTIST ED PORTFOLIO HC PI
I would have to think that both of these are very attractive. The Guarnido in particular I might prefer over reading the comics to which he's contributed.

MAR141429 ENDLESS SKY GN $24.95
I remember this being serialized on-line, an autobiographical -- or at least autobiographically informed -- story of a Swiss artist in New York City, complete with trying circumstances of the kind that makes reflective work more fun.

MAY141632 IT NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN 2 STORIES GN $11.99JUN141321 HENRY AND GLENN FOREVER AND EVER TP (MR) $17.95
Finally, two that you may have seen in another format but will probably want in this new one. The smaller of the two books features a pair of Sam Alden works presented to bookstore and trade-friendly audience by that most intriguing boutique publisher Uncivilized Books. The second is a final gathering of material in the Tom Neely instigated satirical series. That's the kind of comic that people will refer to as a career-instigator 10-15 years now.

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The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.

To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.

The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.